Don't Let Go
by IWalkOnMyOwn
Summary: Carl X OC (Non-Romantic) "Please! Clary I love you! DON'T LET GO!" She can't die! She can't! I need her! "Just let go Eliza! Let me go!" Tears streamed down her face when the pain set in and then... She let go.
1. The Beginning of the End

Chapter 1

(Eliza's POV)

It's been 2 months since everything started to happen. Since the monsters came. I know it's bad and Clary says that I should forget what happened but I don't want to. I need to remember. _**Well no duh El. That's how you survive.**_ _Oh, whatever. Now shut up. I'm busy._ Anyways, everything that's happened, it'll be in history books someday. If I can remember, I can learn and develop my skills. Here is my story so far.

1 Day Before the End  
(3rd Person POV)

"Eliza!" called Mrs Connors, "Dinner time!"  
"I'm coming!"

Eliza raced down the stairs from her room. She sat down at the kitchen table while her mother served dinner (the usual routine). Across the hall in the living room, her dad was heard, watching T.V..He didn't talk much anymore. Not after him and her mother's big fight. He usually just drank and smoked now. Never ate dinner with them either. He was never mean to them but he always seemed so... distant. It hurt Eliza to see her father feeling this way but, no matter what, she loved him. He was watching a breaking news story today. That was strange. Normally Mr Connors never cared about the news.

 _"More calls have come in from all over the country. People who were seemingly dead, waking up and attacking others. Scientists can not explain what's happening. These incidents are quite isolated and will most likely be cleared up soon but we advise everyone stay indoors. If you happen to encounter someone sick, do not approach them. If we are correct, this is a viral outbreak and is most likely contagious. I repeat, stay indoors and do not approach the infected._ " The newscaster sounded worried, paranoid almost, as she spoke. Usually, they were good at hiding this when on-air.

"Brian!" shouted Mrs Connors, "Turn that off! It's all nonsense!"  
"Rising from the dead. Absolute rubbish" She muttered under breath. Little did she know, Eliza had heard everything. Why would the news report something so crazy if it wasn't real?

(Eliza's POV)

That's insane. The news couldn't be real could it? It had to be a joke. The newscaster did sound serious, though. But really? They made it seem like people were turning into zombies. Heh. Zombies. No way.

"Mum? I heard what was on TV. Is that actually happening?" I questioned, my curiosity getting the best of me.

"Of course not El! All lies. That's all the news ever does these days is lie. You can never believe what they say. They just want higher ratings so that they can get more money."

 _"That's what you think."_ I thought bitterly _. "My parents always hide things. I can handle myself!"_

I may not be "mature" but I can tell when something's up. My mum isn't scared often but I can see it in her eyes. This is gonna be bad.

* * *

So.. Um hello. Welcome to my story! I apologise for some of these chapters being so short but I'm re-uploading from another website so there are much more. I'm very new to uploading on here so bear with me! Thanks :)


	2. So Much, So Quickly

Chapter 2

(Eliza's POV)

Dinner was. Well. Quiet. Yes, my dad doesn't speak much but my mother, on the other hand, could carry on about some topics all day. This was just confirming my suspicions that something was wrong. I finished eating quickly and went up to my room, using the excuse that I didn't feel well. I needed to find more information. You'd think I wouldn't be so curious, but I just couldn't stop thinking about the news...

* * *

4 hours later and it was 10:00 at night. I was still researching. Not only the news report. but everything that I could find on "zombies". To say I was interested was a huge understatement. I read articles talking about the possibilities, looked at conspiracy videos, and even watched a couple of episodes of this show I'd heard people talking about. _This is insane!_ _ **Well no duh El**_ _. No I mean I can't believe this could be real!_ _ **But could it?**_ I needed to share my findings with someone. This may seem odd for an 11-year-old but I had this friend I had met online. We both shared interests in the same comic books and met through a fan site. I knew it could be dangerous to talk to someone online but for whatever reason, I trusted this boy. For safety reasons, we chose not to share our real names. To me, he was simply, StarDestroyer1999. To him, I was just NebulaGirl911. Two nerds who loved sci-fi. We never skyped. Never called. Just chat rooms and texting.

(Eliza is underlined)

*NebulaGirl911 is online*  
 _Hey, you on? :)_ _  
Yeah, what's up?  
_ _Have you heard the news? Apparently, people are "rising from the dead." Insane right?_ _  
Yeah, I heard! Sounds weird.  
_ _Well, I found some info. I've done a tonne of research and it actually sounds possible! According to a bunch of stuff I read, scientists have been tracking this for years but kept it on the down low. Something about not wanting to worry the public._ _  
No way! How could they keep that a secret?! It's like, the apocalypse or something!  
_ _Well, it can't be that bad!_ _  
I don't know...  
_ _Hey, it's really late. I should get some sleep._ _  
Yeah me too.  
_ _Goodnight :) try not to worry too much._ _  
Yea you too._

*NebulaGirl911 is offline*

I found myself pretty tired once I signed off. It wasn't even that late but I guess researching takes a lot out of a person. Since I had already gotten prepared for bed, I collapsed on my bed and nodded off into deep, dreamless, sleep. Thoughts of zombies and monsters drifted away into oblivion.

* * *

I awoke the next morning to yelling. I ran downstairs and, for the first time in weeks, heard my father. He was talking to my mum, trying to explain something to her. I knew if they saw me, my parents would make me go upstairs so I stayed out of the kitchen and just listened.

"No Samantha, you don't understand! This guy, h-he looked dead! He attacked me! Trying to bite me or something, but he just scratched my arm something fierce. I'm not crazy! I'm telling you the truth!" My dad yelled, fear evident in his voice.

"Collin! You need to stop yelling. It's only 8:00 and I don't want to wake Eliza. I'm sure this man wasn't dead. He was probably just one of the sick. Remember the news? You'll be fine!"  
Whoa! Wait, was my dad going to get the sickness then? Was he going to be ok?  
"Of course, I remember! I don't want that to happen to me, though! It's contagious!"  
"Well, then we'll just have to go to the doctors tomorrow. It won't be open on a Sunday."  
My dad, finally calm, grumbled a "Fine." and before he left the kitchen, I raced back upstairs.  
No way! What if he gets really sick? What if he hurts someone, like that other man? What if he dies!?

My mind was racing, scenario after scenario popping into my head. I knew I was being irrational but all sorts of things that could happen. Mostly negative. I was so worried, I almost didn't notice I left my computer on last night. It was open on the news website. I hit refresh and what I saw next almost made me pass out. The headline read:

 _The Dead Rise._

 _The CDC states, "There's nothing more that we can do. We'll send in the military but there isn't a big chance everyone will make it out of this. If you want our professional opinions, start saying goodbye to your loved ones."_ The article went on and on about how, basically, the world was ending.

 _Dead... Military... Goodbye... Oh, my god..._

I read the long article and learned that this was the worst virus the world had ever seen. First, you'd get really sick and then, eventually, you'd die. It could take a few hours or up to a couple days, but soon, you'd wake up, and you wouldn't be you anymore. Not really. Basically, you'd be dead but your body could move. Your only thoughts were mostly likely to eat. I couldn't believe what I was reading. Shock couldn't even begin to describe how I was feeling. I quietly turned off my computer and laid on my bed. A list began in my head. This is what I did when stuff was getting out of control. My lists made me feel in control and organised.

 _1- People were rising from the dead.  
2-The world is probably ending.  
3-My dad has most likely been infected.  
4-This means he will die.  
5-I might die._

My young mind, inexperienced and scared, was overflowing with thoughts of what would happen. Would I die? Would my family die? Would the whole world die? What if this was only in America? Could it have spread that quickly? My internal crisis was interrupted by a scream in the next room, loud and shrill, and then silence. I had to put my hands on my mouth to avoid screaming myself. All I could hear now was a quiet growling, not human but like no animal I had ever heard. Suddenly, I came to a realisation. My dad had died. Could the scream be my mothers?. Had he killed her? The sounds had definitely come from their room. _No. No no no no no. This can't be happening. They're ok. They're ok. I will be fine. My family is alive. The world_ is not _ending. My parents are-_ Terrified, delusional thoughts were interrupted by more growls. They were right outside my door now. I could hear nails scratching on it, piercing and...my dads? I wanted to scream. I wanted to cry. I wanted to tear my hair out and break things and hit the wall. But I did none of that. I'm not sure why but (with a strange calmness about me) I crossed the room, opened the window, and climbed out. The walk next door was short. I don't remember it. I don't remember climbing the steps. I don't remember knocking on my neighbour's door. I don't remember Mrs Elliot opening it. I had just broken.

* * *

Mrs Elliot invited me in. I spent a long time telling her about my research and then, what had happened to my parents. Eventually, I broke and loud sobs escaped my mouth. The breathy kind that makes you feel like you can't breathe. Where it feels like nothing else in the world matters except for the fact that everything has gone wrong in your short, worthless life. _My parents are dead_... Mrs Elliot comforted me, understanding how I felt. She had read the news reports and watched videos of people turning into those monsters. She and I were all alone now. We only have each other.

"M-M-Mrs Elliot, ca-" I tried to speak but she stopped me.  
"Call me Clary, honey."  
"W-well Clary, I can stay with you, right? I mean, you hunt so y-y-you can use a gun to kill the things. Please, Clary, I'm all alone now!" Stuttering. God this was so stupid. The world's in crisis! _Get a grip El. Now is not the time for your stupid anxiety._

"Yes, sweetie of course! I wouldn't kick you out! I always saw you as kind of the daughter I never had! I'll take care of you. I do hunt so if it comes down to it, yes, I will shoot one of those things. Anything to keep you safe." Clary sounded calm and composed but I knew it was only an act.  
She was as scared as I was but we needed to stay strong. I felt broken, but that was how would it be for now, for quite a while I suppose. We now lived in a broken world, with broken lives.

* * *

This is going to be tedious, uploading all these chapters. It's worth it though.


	3. What Happens Now?

Chapter 3

(Eliza's POV)

Clary was extremely kind. Although she was as scared as I was, she was taking me in and promising to protect me. I didn't have long to relax before we had to get ready to leave

"Eliza" You know we can't stay here, right? How about we go to one of the evacuation camps? If we go there, the military could keep us safe.  
"Yeah. Yeah, that sounds like a good idea Clary. I need to go back to my house, though. I-I-I need clothes and some food and stuff."  
"I don't think that's a good idea, sweetie. You know, after what happened.  
"I'll be fine Clary!" _Lie._ "My parents... My parents are in their room! They can't get to me!" _Another lie. Geez, El you're on a role.  
_ "Alright, girlie. Just stay safe, alright? I can't have you getting hurt on my watch." A subtle wink was sent in my direction and then I was gone.

* * *

Being in my house so soon after 'the incident', was difficult. I knew it was necessary but my parents had just died! Of course, I'd be scared and upset. Hearing the growling of my dad was terrifying. I don't know why, but I couldn't just leave them there in the hallway. Maybe.. Maybe the picture off of the wall? Well, El. _This is how you're gonna get yourself killed. Just cause you're being weak, as always, and can't leave your parents alone. They're dead._ Why are my thoughts so mean to me? No matter what my brain was telling me, it had to be done. Acting quickly, I took the large painting off of the wall in our living room. I lugged it upstairs silently, hoping my dad wouldn't notice until I needed him too. As quietly as possible, I opened their bedroom door, not daring to look in. I knew that inside, I'd only be met with the grizzly sight of my mother, dead and bloody. Finally, it was time to get my dad's attention. I whistled, low but loud. Enough to draw his attention away from my bedroom door. When my father- _no. Not your father. That's not him anymore. This.. thing. It's a monster now._ No longer the person I once loved. When the thing turned it's head away from my door, it took everything I had to stop myself from screaming. The flesh was falling off _its_ face in chunks. I could see the bones in _its_ jaw and nose. _Its_ skin was grey and dry, so different than it was just hours ago. _Its_ eyes, opaque and white, stared at me, emotionless. Suddenly, the _thing_ lunged for me. I had seconds to raise the picture frame up. It didn't take long for to realise I had underestimated the strength of this _thing_. When it hit the picture I almost toppled over, close to being crushed by the picture. Everything seemed to go black and in a flash, the _thing_ was in its room and the door was closed. My breaths came fast and laboured, adrenaline pumping through my veins still. _Well, you didn't die today El. That's a win_. I sat on the floor for a while, processing what had just happened. My mind had gone quiet. With robot-like movements, I rose from the floor and headed towards my room. It was the exact same way I left it, aside from the deep, bloody gouges on the outside from the _things_ nails. My backpack was lying near my bed so that was what I would pack my clothes in.

 _Huh. Well, now there's no more school at least._ _ **El, what the Hell? It's the apocalypse and you're thinking about school?**_ _Well, yeah. I mean I don't have to go anymore. No more Hannah. No more teachers. No more homework._ _ **Yeah well, that's still better than the end of the world**_ _. Just shut up._

If you haven't noticed yet, I talk to myself. Usually just in my head but on occasion, I say it out loud too. People at school usually thought it was weird...

I packed an extra pair of jeans, three t-shirts, two pairs of socks, and extra underwear. Not really wanting to stay any longer, I rushed downstairs to grab some food. We had cans of the pantry, beans and fruit and such, and I also grabbed some sodas and extra water bottles my mother had liked to keep in the fridge. Just before I left my house, a thought came to mind. I should have a weapon. I mean, I probably won't need to face any of these things but better safe than sorry. Leaving my bag at the door, I walked back up to my room. Hidden in a secret compartment in my desk I had hidden a hunting knife, shiny and unused. My grandpa had made it for me shortly before he passed away. Memories of going to my grandparents suddenly flashed through my mind and I had to keep myself from crying. That was all over now. They were dead just like my parents. I needed to get over it. Attaching the knife to my belt loop and wiping away a couple of stray tears, I noticed that my computer was still on. Open on the screen was a little message notification.

(Underlined is Lily)

 _*One new message from StarDestoyer1999*_

 _Hey! Are you alright?  
Please answer me!  
Come on I know something is wrong!  
_ _Hey, it's ok. I'm here but I can't stay. Listen, my parents are dead..._ _  
Oh, my god. I'm so sorry.  
_ _I know.. I'm leaving with my neighbour soon. We're going to an evacuation camp in Nashville._ _  
Alright. I think my mum and I are leaving with her friend soon. Atlanta is what they said.  
_ _Is your dad ok?_ _  
I'm not sure. I think they're leaving him at the hospital so that the doctors can take care of him. The military will be in soon so I'm sure he'll be fine.  
_ _Well.. ok. I need to go. Maybe one day we'll speak again. Goodbye, and stay safe!_ _  
Yea you too! Goodbye.._

 _*NebulaGirl911 is offline*_

Well. That was it. I'd probably never talk to my best, and only, friend ever again. Seeing as it had already been 15 minutes, I ran downstairs, grabbed my bag, and went bag over to Clary's house.

"It's about time Missy! We need to go. It's getting dark soon and I don't want to be driving at night with these things around."

And so we left. Goodbye little old Wake Forest, NC. Hello, hopefully, Nashville Tennessee.

* * *

Not much was said on our journey. There were still a few radio stations up so that was what we would listen too. About 20 minutes out of the city, we saw one. One of those...monsters. It was tall and pale with eyes glazed over. The skin was falling off and you could clearly see a huge bite mark on its neck. The sight was revolting, with it's torn clothing and shredded skin. I could faintly hear Clary telling me not to look but it was like a car crash. You just couldn't seem to look away. We quickly passed it and had barely been driving 5 minutes when we heard the panicked new radio broadcast.

 _"Nashville is down! I repeat, Nashville is gone! Don't go into the city! It's overrun! Everyone is dead! Do not come into the city! It's too dangero-"_ The man had been yelling when his sentence was cut off by, presumably, his own scream. Growls and screams were heard through the radio before Clary quickly turned it off. I turned to look at her, fear and concern evident on my face. _No. No no. Why?_ _ **Because the world's ending Eliza!**_ _Yeah, but why isn't the military doing anything?_ ** _Maybe because they're all dead?_** Although I was freaking out, only one question really stood out.

"So.. What happens now?"

* * *

Looking back, I believe I got the pushing-parents-with-painting idea from Walkerinme so check her out!


	4. Comforting Thoughts

Chapter 4

(Eliza's POV)

We drove a long time after that. It was mostly silent considering that most radio stations were gone. Presumably, the hosts were dead. I didn't even know where we were anymore. Just somewhere in northern Alabama. We drove through a lot of towns that looked abandoned, aside from the walkers. One man had ran towards us, screaming for help, but we couldn't afford to stop. He looked dangerous and we had no way of knowing if he was infected or not. _It's ok. You had to leave him. He could've been infected._ _ **He could've been fine. You probably killed him.**_ _No! It's safer this way. He could have hurt us._ _ **No. You're just a heartless monster like them.**_ _Just shut up!_ It had only been a couple of days since everything started but from what I could tell, things went downhill fast. The only thing I had hope for was that StarDestroyer1999 and his family were ok. We never knew each other's real names but in the few months we spoke, I felt like we were good friends...

It always seems dark now. I'm not sure why, though. I had asked Clary but she didn't seem to know either. It was as if the world itself knew that it was ending. The clouds covering the once bright sky were starting to dissipate but I knew it would be a few days still until we saw the sun again. This was so much for me to handle. I mean, I'm eleven years old for heavens sake! My parents have died but I still feel very numb about it. I feel like if I don't let it out soon, I'll explode, but for now, I kept it in. I needed to be strong. We both did. Eventually, Clary stopped driving. I never noticed that we had gone off-road, far away in my thoughts. We were now in a small clearing somewhere in the woods.

Clary suddenly spoke up. "Here we are! This is where we'll set up our 'camp'."

"Camp? Should we really stop? I mean, we're completely out of our element here!" I was concerned. What if someone found us? What if we were ambushed. People get desperate when they're scared.

"You may be out of your element but I'm not! I've been camping since I was your age! Remember, I hunt too! We'll be perfectly safe here. It will be a while before any of those monsters wander out this far." I was greatly for Clarys' confidence. It made me feel stronger, more secure. We spent a little while setting up an alarm system. The rope went all the way around the clearing. Various bottles and cans covered it so that if anything happened to bump into it, we'd be alerted right away. I was wary about going to sleep but Clary assured me that she would keep watch as long as she could. After another long day of driving and finally setting up camp, comforting thoughts lulled me to sleep.

(Fast Forward a Month and a Half)

Clary and I have been here quite a while now but it's time to leave. We used to have very few monsters (or as I like to call them, biters) coming around our camp (the truck and our rope and cans) in the beginning but now we get at least one everyday day. Sometimes even two. It's not safe anymore. It didn't take long to pack up so we left around noon. Great. Another long drive. We were still doing well for food but I decided to take inventory just for something to do. My phone died long ago so I no longer had games to play or music to listen to. Boredom was taking over my mind. So now it's been just about two months since my parents died. I don't know why but I haven't really mourned for them yet. The numbness just stays. I don't really feel happy or sad anymore. I just do as I'm told. I guess that way at least I'll stay alive. I trusted Clary with my life. Over the past month, she has started showing me how to shoot her handgun. I guess if I wanted to survive, I'd need to know how. I understand that these things are monsters, not people. They only want to hurt me and the only way to stop from happening is to drive something through their brain, as we'd already discovered. I'm actually a pretty good shot, believe it or not. We didn't want to waste ammo but for the few times I had shot, I hit most of the cans we set up. I haven't actually killed a biter yet and I don't want to but I know the day will come. Let's just hope it won't be soon.


	5. Think Before You Act

Chapter 5

(Eliza's POV)

Driving. So much driving. God I never want to be in another car ever again. We have driven for days. At least a week. Who knows where on earth we are now! Clary found some CD's in a car that we looted so at least there's some music. The best of Queen. Lucky for me, I love Queen! Great band in my opinion. Awesome music. Anyways, as I was saying, I hope we can stop soon. I know Clary just wants us to be safe but I don't think that's possible anymore...

(3rd Person POV)

Eliza and Clary drove for another few hours before eventually stumbling across a farm house.

"Clary look!" Eliza exclaimed. Finally, something different. "It's a farm! Maybe there are people or even food!"

"Yeah... People." Clary was concerned, as always. Not everyone was kind these days and Eliza didn't seem to realize it yet. "El. I want you to stay here alright? Just in case it's dangerous inside."

"But Clary, I-" Eliza's response was cut off by a gunshot aimed towards the pair. Suddenly, there were people around the car, at least 3, opening the doors and smashing windows. Her adrenaline was going insane as Eliza could feel herself being dragged outside onto the grass, her attacker sparing no mercy to her well-being. Struggling to escape and fear taking over, she fell to the ground, her head hitting a rock. The shocked girl's world abruptly went blurry and clouded. Sounds were muffled but she heard shouting. Her vision wasn't quite right but a few feet away, she saw Clary, yelling. Eliza assumed it was about her being hurt. Pain pounded through her head and she could feel blood running down her face and dripping onto her lap. It took at least a few minutes for her world to begin coming back to normal, loud and clear, and by this time, things seemed to have settled down just a bit. There was no more yelling and Eliza had been sat up against the car.

"-just a girl! How dare you hurt her that way!" Clary was heard, calmer but still fuming, talking (mostly yelling actually) to their assailants.

A voice she didn't recognize replied, obviously trying to stay calmer than Clary was. "Listen ma'am we didn't mean her any harm. Sometimes Billy doesn't know his own strength. I apologize for any harm we may have caused you but my father will take a look at her. He's a doctor."

"I'm not leaving her alone. Where ever you take her, I'm coming." That was the last Eliza heard before blacking out entirely.

(Eliza's POV)

It was dark for a while. I think I was awake but I couldn't move or speak. I heard voices but not what they said. It wasn't long though before I opened my eyes to find I was lying in a bed. Beside me was an elderly man who had just begun to realize I was awake.

"Hello Eliza. Do you know what happened." He had a kind voice, caring and gentle.

"I-I hit my head I think. After we were shot at." She found her voice hoarse and low-pitched.

"Yes yes... I apologize about that. My boys just got concerned that you wanted to hurt us. The name's Hershel. Hershel Greene. This is my farm. Those people you met were a few of my children."

The man seemed nice enough but Eliza knew better than to let her guard down. She took a quick glance around the room, taking in the scene. Plain beige walls, a simple tall lamp, paintings of scenery on the wall. Nothing special.

"Wheres Clary?" As always, Clary was Eliza's first concern. She didn't know her well before 'The End' but now, Clary was like a mother to her.

"Your friend's in the kitchen. We've explained everything to her and she's done the same. Let me go get her for you."

Finally. Something positive. All Eliza wanted at this moment was to hug Clary and tell her she was ok. Below, she heard muffled voices speaking and then footsteps up the stairs.

"Eliza! Oh god Eliza, you're ok!" Clary exclaimed, rushing into the room and engulfing her in a warm embrace. It was comforting, having someone care for you so dearly. Strange but, nevertheless, comforting.

"I'm fine Clary. At least I think so. Just tired but I'll live. Hershel explained what happened and honestly, I forgive them. We'd have done the same thing, although maybe not mean." Eliza grimaced, feeling the pain in her head.

"I still think we should leave as soon as you're well. I don't trust them and I'd like to keep moving. Just to be safe." Concern was evident in Clary's voice. Eliza knew it was for the best and trusted Clary's judgement. She murmured a quiet agreement, suddenly feeling exhausted, and drifted off to sleep.


	6. Nightmares (Real and Imaginary)

Chapter 6

(Eliza's POV)

When I finally woke up, it was dark outside. I guess we're staying the night. Trying to sit up, I was suddenly hit with a spell of dizziness. I fell back on the bed, abruptly becoming aware of someone else in the room. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I recognized the small form of Clary on a chair in the corner. I breathed a sigh of relief, happy it wasn't someone else. I liked these people but there were very rude and I didn't really trust them still. Well, except maybe Hershel. It wasn't long before the sweet release of sleep hit me again, my dreams plagued with the dead.

* * *

 _"Eliza... Oh Liza...  
I'm coming for you El!"  
"Leave me alone Hannah!"  
"Ha ha ha. Aw poor baby. Are you gonna cry?"  
"Just stop!"  
"Or what? Is your drunk daddy gonna come get me?"  
"SHUT UP!"_

 _No no no no no. Not again. This isn't real._

 _Hannah approached me with a smirk on her face. Pain, fear, sadness, and regret invaded my mind._

"NO!" I awoke with a scream.

 _A dream. Only a dream. She's not here. It's not real._

Clary jumped at the sound of my cry.

"Eliza! Are you ok? Oh my god does it hurt?!"

"I'm fine Clary. Really. I just had a nightmare alright? It's bound to happen." She was reluctant to believe me but didn't press the matter. After a few words of reassurance, she went back to sleep. No one knew that I was bullied. I didn't tell my parents, my teachers, Clary, anyone. I mean, they're only words. I know it was stupid not to say anything but I was scared it would get worse or people would laugh at me for being a tattletale. It's nothing. Sure, it's a bit harder to trust people sometimes but that can be a good thing nowadays I guess...

(Morning)

When the sun rose, I was awoken by Clary calling my name. She told me that we would be staying one more day just to be safe. Hershel thought that I might have had a concussion. It seemed like he actually liked me a bit so that's good. It's better to make friends than enemies. Apparently it would be safe for me to get up and walk around but I'd just have to take it easy. That'll be hard. I decided I would wander around the farm for a bit.

[Outside]

The land was beautiful! I could see the forest from the house easy and the fields just looked gorgeous. I wish I would have more time to enjoy this place but I understand the importance of moving on. Maybe someday Clary and I would settle down but there's always a risk. I walked towards the barn, excited to see what kind of animals they had. I had never really been out of the city. As I got close to the barn, I heard noises coming from inside. Thrilled, I ran closer. As I neared the barn though, a familiar sound rang in my ears. Biters (or walkers as Hershel calls them. Maybe I should call them that. Sounds better.). Looking through a crack in the door, I jumped back, suppressing a yell of surprise as a walker threw itself against the door, trying to get me.

 _Oh my god._

I was freaking out now. Was this what I thought it was? I took one more look through the door again, more cautious this time. Three of them. A man and a woman (maybe a couple?), and a little blonde girl, wandering around inside and starting to take notice of me now. As they walked forwards, it finally hit me.

 _These people... They're keeping walkers in the barn... On purpose?_


	7. Lies and Travels

Chapter 7

(Eliza's POV)

What the Hell do I do?

There are _walkers_ in the barn.  
There are walkers in the _barn_.  
There are _walkers in the barn!_

Oh my God. I have to tell Clary. I can't keep this a secret from her. We need to leave _today_ , not tomorrow. I don't care how hurt I am. What is wrong with these people? Do they not get that those things are dead? Maybe they just couldn't put down their family. I know I couldn't... It didn't take long for me to run back to the house, full speed.

"Hershel." He was on the porch when I got back. "Hershel, what's in the barn?" _He better not lie to me.  
"_What do you mean Eliza? There's nothing there except hay." _Liar_. "Now run along. Go find Clary. She's up in your room." _I hate you.  
_ "Alright!" I said, trying to appear as cheerful and oblivious as possible. I ran upstairs to find Clary. We needed to leave. _Right now_. I don't care what she thinks, these people aren't safe. What if those walkers got out? What would happen then? Right before I turned the corner into the hallway, I ran right into Maggie and Beth, Hershel's daughters.

"Woah Missy! Where're you headin this fast?" I liked Maggie but I didn't have time to chat. It was obvious that she was about to start a conversation. I had to get out of there.  
"Just looking for Clary! Excuse me!" I dashed past them and into Clary and I's room.  
"Clary! Clary emergency!" She looked visibly confused. "Slow down El! What's going on?"  
Once again, I was out of breath. "There are. Walkers. In. The barn." I finally got out, taking a breath between the word. God, why was I getting so out of breath lately? I better not have asthma or something.  
"What!? What do you mean?" She looked panicked.  
"It doesn't matter. We have to leave. Now!" I was going whether she came or not.  
"OK OK. Grab your things, let's get in the car and go.

And so we left. The first safe place we had come across since everything started, or ended if that's what you wanted to call it. The Greene family was obviously confused when we rushed our goodbyes and raced out of the house, into our car. They'd figure it out soon enough... Now we're driving again. Right back where we started. God my back hurts. And my head now that I'm thinking about it. Geez, Hershels' family really wasn't too pleasant when we drove up. I mean, who is _that_ quick to judge a young woman and a little girl? How much harm could we have done?

* * *

1 Week Later

Finally! We had stopped driving 2 days ago. There was a highway near the farm filled with cars. We looted a lot of them and found quite a bit of food and even water. Of course, we had to syphon some gas as well, with all this driving that we did. Our small car did well, navigating its way slowly through the mass of cars. I could actually see Atlanta from here. Wow. I guess we travelled a whole lot farther than I though. To think, we'd come all the way from North Carolina to Atlanta, Georgia. That highway was a real gold mine. We got so a huge amount of supplies from it but, of course, we couldn't stop. So now we're here. Some random police station in a town we found. There were guns there. I guess no one really thought to look there. Also, there were a couple of holding cells so we could sleep feeling safe. Finally. Clary was slowly giving me freedom. For instance, I could now go out on runs on my own as long as A) I brought my gun B) I didn't go too far and C) I was back before dark. It was great.  
 _ **As long as you don't mess up.**_ _I won't._ _ **But what if you do? What if you get hurt? What if you get Clary hurt?**_ _Stop it! I'll be fine._ Thoughts aside, I love the feeling of responsibility. It's just so great to know someone trusts you to get things done and be smart about it. So that's where I am now. On a run. I'm probably about two blocks from the station by now, the farthest I've ever gone. I had gotten away from the town centre a bit now and there were houses around. I needed to watch out for walkers (and people) more than ever. Who knows what's holed up here? I kicked out a door, the wooden frame rotting, and it easily swung open. My gun was up as I swept through the house, looking into every room and closet I could find until I confident I was alone. When I was satisfied, the search for supplies began. Food, ammo, weapons, clothes. Basically, anything that could be remotely useful. And then I heard it.

Walkers and no, not just one or two. It sounded huge, like... like a herd. And they were heading right this way.

* * *

So there is a lot of dialog in this chapter. Sorry about that.


	8. The Kiss of Death

Chapter 8

(Eliza's POV)

I need to warn Clary. There's only so long before they'll be at the station and if she makes _any_ noise, we're done for. So I ran. Out through the back door of the house, through backyard after backyard, over fences, through gates, and around the corner, right by the station. I was there before the herd but I could see them coming right down the street. And then I heard it.  
"Eliza!" Oh no. Clary. This was bad. I could already see the walkers down the street turn towards to me. One second, they were almost three blocks away, the next, they were one. **_This is your fault. You were out too long._** _No, it's not! I've been out later!_ ** _Well, she's looking for you so..._** _It's not my fault!_ ** _Whatever._** I could see Clary now; she was close. I ran towards her as quietly as possible, not wanting to draw more walkers towards us. This situation was bad enough as it is. She could see me now and began waving but I moved my hand across my throat, signalling her to stop. She seemed confused until she saw the mass of walkers behind me.  
"Oh my god." We needed to go _right now_.  
"Just get to the station! Go! Run!" My voice was frantic as I desperately tried to get her to go. We could _not_ die this way. So we ran. We were both in the station in minutes but there was no time to block the doors. Somehow, the walkers had gotten closer. We stumbled down the stairs, sheer terror motivating us not to stop.

 _(At this point, I recommend listening to Fix You by Coldplay)_

And then it happened.

One second, Clary was right beside me, the next, I could feel her hand ripped from my grasp. Her hand found mine again and I was in a cell now, desperately trying to pull her in with me so I could close the door. I don't know how but the walker was strong. Oh god, it was so strong. I couldn't hold on. I could see it lunge at her, it's teeth sinking into her flesh, flushing the virus into her bloodstream.  
"Don't let go! Don't leave me! You can't!" Screams. Pain. Fear.  
"I won't! I promise!" Something inside of me said that that was a lie but I was in too much shock to really process it.  
"Please! Clary, I love you! DON'T LET GO!" She can't die! She can't! I need her! Clary was screaming now, trying to pull away from the walker as more approached!  
"Just let go, Eliza! Let me go!" Tears streamed down her face when the pain set in and then... She let go. _You let go. You said you wouldn't let go! You promised! How could you do this to me! I'm alone now!_  
"NO! CLARY!" The cell door swung shut with a clang and I just began shooting. I shot walker after walker, each one falling to the ground. I had to get rid of them before Clary was devoured. Then all at once, it went quiet. What had felt like an eternity had turned out be less than 5 minutes. I looked at the floor and saw it. The battered body of my only friend. My protector. The only person I had. The woman I considered my mother. That's why when she suddenly breathed in, I almost screamed. I rushed out a cell and collapsed to the floor, exhaustion taking over. I cradled Clary's body in my lap and I didn't even notice I was crying until a tear dripped down onto her forehead.  
"Eliza... Be safe, ok? You are brave, you are strong, and you are so kind. Don't let this world take that from you... You'll make it."  
"No Clary. Please. Don't leave me!" I was sobbing now and I couldn't stop. I could barely breathe and it took everything out of me. I was going to be alone now and I couldn't handle that fact. I hadn't learned enough...  
"Eliza, find a group ok?" Her voice was nothing more than a pained whisper as she spoke. "You'll be safer with others. Be careful about who you trust, not everyone is as kind as us. Promise me you will. " Clary's kind words echoed in my ears and I still couldn't stop crying. This wasn't a cute, movie sniffle. It was ugly crying. My face was red and blotchy, my nose was running, and the never ending tears splashed down to the floor.  
"I promise." Then all at once, Clary's eyes closed and her breathing stopped.  
"Clary? Clary wake up!" I shook her body hysterically, begging her to wake up even though my efforts were obviously futile. "I can't do this alone Clary, please! We were gonna find some place safe, remember? We were gonna live life together, grow food and make a home for ourselves! We had dreams!" I came to a sudden realisation. She was going to turn. _No no no no no. I can't do that! I can't put her down!_  
"Clary please..." My voice faded to nothing. "No... '"

"I'm alone now."

There were long silences between my words, half sobs, half whispers. It was as if I couldn't work up the strength to speak properly.

"I'm not brave. I'm scared..."

* * *

Yep.. This chapter made me pretty emotional.


	9. Alone

Chapter 9

(Eliza's POV)  
 _  
"Clary please..." My voice faded to nothing. "No..."_

 _" I'm alone now."_

 _There were long silences between the quiet words I spoke, half sobs, half whispers. It was as if I couldn't work up the strength to speak properly._

 _"I'm not brave. I'm scared..."_

* * *

I don't know how long I just sat there, cradling the cold, broken body of the only person in this world who mattered to me. I do know that it was an unbearably long time before I could work up the strength, mentally _and_ physically, to drag her into a cell. I knew it would be more.. merciful.. to put her down but I couldn't do it. Clary would turn soon, there was no doubt about that. I couldn't stay in this station. I wouldn't be able to handle seeing Clary become one of those things. Her dying right in front of me was enough to completely break me but, maybe in the end.. I'd grow stronger from this. You know, like the lyrics " _Sometimes to stay alive, you gotta kill your mind._ " Well, my mind's definitely dead now. In some ways, I'm jealous of Clary. She doesn't have to live in this world anymore. She'll see my parents, her husband, both of our families. Everyone she's ever lost will be with her again. But I need to survive. I need to keep going. Do what she said. Find a group and live. Well, at least do what's considered living nowadays. So I left. I left the station. I left the town. I left almost every memory of my old life behind.

I'd been wandering the highway for hours before coming across any walkers which, I suppose, is a good thing. It could also mean there are other people around. That's a bad thing. I know Clary said to stay with a group but I can't handle that right now. I eventually came across cars on the highway piled up. They were probably trying to get out of Atlanta before it was bombed. We weren't even nearby the city, miles away even, and we heard the bombs drop. That was the moment when most of the hope we had left was demolished.

Anyways, I looted a lot of cars. Anything that I could find was stuffed into my backpack. I haven't cried since the station. I've been almost completely numb since Clary died. I still have nightmares about her. Violent ones. There's blood. So much blood and it's everywhere. I know it's not mine. The dark blood is Clary's, mixing with the darker blood from every walker that I've killed. There so much screaming and it all comes from not Clary, but me. The thing is, they're not just nightmares. Every detail is a memory, vivid and red. The blood still stains my boots and jeans. It not like there's time for fashion anymore. As long as it's comfortable and fits decently, I'll wear it. Right now I've got on a Fall Out Boy shirt, green jeans, and combat boots along with my black hoodie from before. I feel alone. I feel so, utterly, alone. I haven't seen a living thing (except for birds) in over a week. It's been two since Clary died. I don't even know where I am anymore.

There's a herd nearby that's been following me almost the whole time I've been out here. With the noise, more and more just gather. I'm too tired to take them out. Eventually, when I have some strength left, I'll take care of it but right now, my biggest priority is food and some sort of shelter for tonight. It's already getting dark and the walkers seem more restless at night. It's weird. They're just like zombies out of the movies or comic books but I've yet to hear anyone call them that. I decided to head off into the woods to try and find somewhere to sleep. Maybe I could tie myself up in a tree? I'd be off the ground and away from the reach of any walkers or people. Yeah.. that's what I'd do. A tree

My plan was much less than foolproof. There were almost no trees in this forest that could be tall enough or support my weight, let alone hide me from anyone (or anything) that might want to hurt me or even kill me. I probably spent a good part of the next hour trying to find what I was looking for but I found it. Eventually. It did take me a long time to climb it, though. I was so tired from all my walking. I had barely stopped in the past 48 hours. I knew I would be sleeping well tonight. Honestly, for the situation I was in, I was doing pretty well for myself. I had food, water, any kind of supplies I might need, and a place to sleep for the night. Maybe this wouldn't be too hard. Maybe, just maybe, I would make it. It was times like these when I felt most hopeful. As I was drifting off to sleep, I knew this would be the best night I'd had in a long time.


	10. Voices

Chapter 10

I may have fallen asleep peacefully but I definitely didn't wake up that way, oh no. I didn't wake up the birds chirping or the sun glaring in my eyes. I woke up to voices and I could hear them loud and clear. " _Claimed_!" I heard one of them yell in the distance and then, there was arguing. I heard a lot of yelling as I formed a plan in my mind. My best bet here was to climb higher in the tree. Up there, just a few extra meters, the foliage was thick that I wouldn't even be able to see the bottom. Anyways, none of them were small enough to make it up here to me. I made it only about three feet before I slipped. I began falling, desperately grabbing onto branches and trying to keep myself up. Finally, halfway down, I felt a huge yank on my shoulders as I finally caught a larger branch on the tree. I knew I was covered in scratches and cuts but my adrenaline was so high that I wouldn't even notice until later. I climbed back up that tree faster than ever before, the urgency in my brain yelling at me to hide. I sped up even more when I hear the men yelling about something else.

"Did anyone else hear that?!"  
"Yeah man, is someone else here!?"

 _Shit_. I sat shock-still in the tree now. I became a literal, living statue. These guys gave me a bad vibe and if they found me, I was certain I would be killed, or worse. The men were quickly checking the area for any sign of being followed or spied on (so basically, they were looking for me). **_You messed up El! You totally messed up! They're gonna get you now!_** _No! I'll be fine! I'm too high for them to see me!_ ** _But they definitely heard you and that means they'll find you!_** _I will be fine! I can do this!_ Pushing my thoughts aside, I held my breath as a large group of terrifying looking men (I was right to hide from them) passed under the tree. They looked up but my dark clothes camouflaged my small frame within the branches and foliage. I didn't move for a long time after they left, the terror still fresh in my mind. I slowly let out the breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding. That was when the pain set in.

I looked down at my battered body. I was a total mess, covered in scratches and leaves. It was almost instantly that I noticed my worst injury. A long gash ran down my side. It wouldn't need stitches but it was definitely going to need some sort of first aid. I'd also be pretty immobile for a while. Walking, I could do, running was out of the question. My biggest problem right now was getting out of this tree. This was going to hurt. Every step I took down onto a branch sent another jolt of pain shooting up my side. It took everything in me not to cry out. Those guys could still be near enough to hear me yelling. I found a small branch and bit down on it. That gave me something else to focus on besides climbing down the tree. When I finally reached the bottom, I collapsed on the ground in exhaustion, the burning from my injuries threatening to steal my consciousness from me. After a few minutes, I forced myself to stand, knowing that in order to fix myself up, I'd have to at least set up a small camp.

I slung my bag over my shoulder again (with great difficulty) and started walking. It wasn't so bad once I got going. Eventually, I made it to a clearing and before I could stop myself, set up the simple can alarm system and made a small shelter out of branches and bushes. When I finally sat down, the pain rushed back in. I cringed as I began bandaging up my wound, a few tears slipping over my eyes without my consent and dripping down onto the ground. I wanted Clary so badly right now. I wanted my parents. I wanted my grandparents. Someone who cared about me. I was desperate for some sort of company. I felt so alone, so vulnerable, so _scared_. I had no one anymore, I was hurt, hungry, cold and alone. I was losing hope that I would make it. I didn't want to make it anymore. At this point, it seemed like I would be better off as a walker. Better of dead. At least I'd be happy. I wouldn't be in pain and I'd see my family and Clary again.

I couldn't help it as more and more tears slid down my face and quiet sobs escaped my throat. I couldn't help it when I was trembling from the cold and laying alone and helpless in my tiny shelter. I couldn't help it when my eyes shut and I dreamed of being dead. I couldn't help it when I woke up and was disappointed I hadn't died in my sleep. Nevertheless, I got up that morning. I checked my string of cans, ate half a can of fruit, and took down my shelter. My wound seemed to have healed up a little in the night. It still hurt to move but walking wasn't so bad anymore. Running was still out of the question. That could prove to be a problem. It took me a long time to do stuff that would normally take less than 30 minutes. As I finished packing up my things, I came to a realization. I'd never make it anywhere feeling so sorry for myself. I had to be strong, like Clary was. I needed to be brave. I had to grow up. I was stuck in a hole of self-pity and it was time to climb out of it. This was when I became a new person. I wasn't just Eliza Connors, eleven-year-old, anymore. I was now Eliza Connors, the survivor.


	11. Wilfire

Chapter 11

I feel numb again. It's just like when my parents died. I think it's my body's coping mechanism. Blocking out all of the bad feelings so that I don't completely fall apart. It's how I live now. In a state of numbness. The basic survival instincts we all have from birth is all that's keeping me alive.

It doesn't matter though. I'm alive. Well, as alive as a person in my circumstances could be. Recently I've been teaching myself to hunt. I can't live on canned foods forever. I need to keep up my strength and protein is the way to go. It will help me build muscle and gain energy. My side is almost completely healed; it only hurts when I push myself too hard. This past week had been spent trying to find somewhere more permanent to stay for a while. I've been on the run since Clary died and even though I'm eating quite well, I can feel my strength failing me. Some days, it's a struggle to even make myself get up and moving. Then I remember this isn't for school, it's for survival. That gets me up. Usually. Some days I lay there for hours, staring at the sky. There's one upside to this entire thing. Humans may be dying off but the rest of the world is absolutely gorgeous. The plant life grows as if nothing ever happened. It's only been a few months but lot's of buildings have plants growing up the sides and grass is spreading like a wildfire. Speaking of wildfires, that brings us to my current problem. I'm in the middle of the forest, I have no idea where I'm going. Also, I smell smoke.

Fire's been a huge fear of mine since I was little. I was 6 at the time and I had an older brother. He was quite a bit older than me, 19 actually. He left for college the year before and lived in an apartment building. Luckily, we got to go visit him often because his college was only an hour away. That's when the fire happened. We were on the third floor, in his apartment, when the smoke started leaking out from under the door. My parents were in the living room while I was with my brother in his room so, they saw it first. Suddenly one of the walls broke down and fire began to engulf the apartment. My parents tried to get to us but the smoke forced them out through the fire escape. There wasn't one in my brothers room. Before I knew it, the floor collapsed. We were trapped in the hallway that led to the living room. This part is very blurry but I remember exactly what my brother said.  
"You're gonna be alright El! You hear me? I'm going to get you out of here. I love you." _I love you..._ The last words I ever heard him speak. In seconds, he had lifted me up and threw me over the hole. I landed hard on my knees and turned back just to see him look me in the eyes, then fall through the floor. Everything went black and it was a long time before I woke up. When I did, I was on a bed. There were doctors all around me and we were moving. I heard short sentences like "Oxygen deprivation." and "Smoke inhalation." Six-year-old me had to no clue what these meant but I had been taught to trust doctors. I felt too scared to move even if I wanted to so I just sat there and let them do whatever they needed too.

Eventually, I blacked out again and woke up in a hospital room. My parents were sat around my bed. They look awful, like they'd been constantly crying, and my mother was launched into another fit of sobs when I asked where my brother was. That's when they told me he was dead. I didn't say much for days after that. I was even silent at his funeral, even though they had no body to put in the casket. Those next few months were the worst part of my life, up until now. I've hated fire ever since that day. I've seen it as an evil thing that ruins lives and tears apart happiness. It's the one childhood fear I never let go of. The only person that knew about it besides my family was StarDestroyer1999. I told him everything that was safe to share with someone online.

This is a huge problem. I know there's a fire coming towards me and all I can do is sit here, frozen in fear. The sky is turning dark, slightly illuminated by the glow of the fire. Small embers float to the ground like dark, fiery, leaves. It's not until I can actually see some of the fire that the instinct kicks in to _run_. I'm up on my feet and flying through the trees. The fire is chasing me like some demon, fast and un-relentless. The heat of the flames is constant behind me and small sparks land on my arms and back, leaving burns that go unnoticed as I run. The air is smokey and orange. It would be beautiful if I were to be looking at a picture but right in the midst of it, all I can think of is staying alive. I have no idea how deep in the forest I am. It could be miles before I reach the edge and I'll be out of breath by then. My lungs were already burning from my constant sprint. The smoke wasn't helping me either. I could feel myself slowing down. exhaustion beginning to set in. I was going to collapse. My legs hurt, my chest, my head hurt. Everything hurt. Maybe it was the fire, maybe it was the running, maybe my body was finally giving up on me but it was a huge surprise when my feet hit solid ground instead of forest dirt. A highway. I collapsed on the road. Just like when I was in that apartment all those years ago, I blacked out.

It was dark when I woke up. Everything around me wad charred, black. The trees are nothing but burnt columns of wood. As I sat up, a thick layer of ash fell off of my body. It must've collected there while I was unconscious. I was honestly surprised I was still alive. If the fire and smoke didn't get me, I was sure the walkers would. Maybe they had all burned. I looked down to see my hands shaking. It had all been so much and the memories of my brothers death were all brought back to me, sending waves of fear and sadness into my mind. It's as if the accident happened all over again. I sat in the road, my legs crossed, and just stared at the destruction. All of this had completely reinforced my fear of fire and it would be a long time before I would be able to trust it again. I would survive without it. I could just keep myself safe in other ways... Fire wasn't a necessity. Except for cooking food.. Ok, I'd have to use fire sometimes but that didn't mean I had to be too close to it. I'll be fine.


	12. The Story of a Lonely Girl

Chapter 12

Two Months Later

I've been on my own for a while now. I've been keeping track of the days. 84 to be exact. I haven't seen another human since that incident in the trees. Honestly, it's better that way. You can never truly trust people. Anyone can betray you at any time. It's better to be alone. No one to rely on but yourself. I'm scared but I need to keep going. I ran out of canned foods but Clary taught me how to find food. I eat pine seeds out of pine cones and I can even boil tree bark in my little bowl in my bag (though it tastes disgusting!). I'm cold a lot of the time. The weather is getting worse but I think I'm far enough South that the snow won't be too bad. The worst thing about this whole experience, though, is the crippling loneliness I feel. I hate walking along and thinking of something to say, only to turn and have no one there to tell it too. I hate going to sleep with nothing to say goodnight too except the sky. The thoughts in my mind have gotten worse and I catch myself talking out loud, carrying out full conversations, way too often. **_Don't say you're lonely!_** _ **You have me!**_ _Yeah, but you're rude to me. Friends aren't rude to each other._ _ **Well, you're a loser with no friends...**_ _Well, friends don't matter anymore._ The only person I have to talk to is myself so that's how it is most of the time. Sometimes my mind is pretty cruel. It starts talking about my family, my friends... Clary. It's awful. As I lay on the ground at night, it speaks to me. _**You could have saved Clary.**_ _Shut up._ _ **It's your fault she's dead.**_ _I said shut up!_ _ **Why should I? You know I'm right. You should've run faster. You should've warned her.**_ _I couldn't! Not without dying myself!_ _ **Well, why didn't you save your parents then? You knew something was wrong**_ _. I didn't know this would happen!_ _ **Yeah well, you should just give up. No one loves you anyways.**_ _Just leave me alone..._

The only reason I keep going is because of Clary. She told me to survive so I'm going too. Also, I told myself I would. I promised I would stop pitying myself and just keep living. Maybe one day I could find a group. Not all people are bad now and I know that. It's just hard to trust people. You never know who could turn on you and slit your throat in your sleep. Everyone is desperate for food, water, protection. It's human instinct. Protection. I wish I could have something as precious as that. Why didn't I treasure while it lasted? Why? That's the beginning of almost all the questions I have. Why?

I woke up the next morning cold. Colder than normal. As I sat up, I realized how bad my situation was. I had taken too long to find somewhere to stay and now... Well, now there's snow everywhere. Not much, thank goodness, but enough to almost cover the grass. Thank god I slept under a thick tree or I would have frozen to death in my sleep. I quickly packed up what little I had and left. The snow on the road was higher than it was in the forest, at least an inch higher. This was bad. I walked, my eyes constantly scanning the tree line. **_Wow, Eliza. Good job. Can't you do anything right for once?_** I really need to figure out how to shut that voice up. It's just holding me back. My pace sped up as I got colder, desperate for some sort of shelter. My feet were soaked from the snows moisture being let in from the holes in the bottoms. _Mental note, get new clothes and shoes. Preferably warmer. You'll die from hypothermia or something without them._ I walked for what seemed like forever. Every foot step dragged. My legs hurt, my chest hurt, and my skin itself hurt from the cold. My hands had turned red even when I had them in my pockets. It did nothing to warm them up. I hoped I wouldn't get sick from this. I had no medicine and I could not afford to be sick when I needed to be gathering food and supplies.

It must have been at least an hour when I found it. My salvation. Far in the distance, I saw it. A truck stop. I didn't even care that there wouldn't be food there, I could only think about being indoors. Maybe there would be a gift shop with clothes in it? My confidence was renewed and suddenly, I didn't feel so cold and hopeless. With luck, I'd only have to take out one or two walkers inside. I almost cried out from joy when I found the door unlocked and the place deserted. I quickly found a place on the tile floor and started setting up a little fire. It would heat up the room quickly. I sat by my tiny fire for a while until I no longer felt like an icicle. When that was done with, I stood up and finally took a good look at my surroundings. There may not have been much but there were actually some candies and chips left! I devoured about half of them, until I felt full, and left the rest to save and ration out. I hadn't eaten well in days so this was as good as a goldmine. Then I found it. A gift shop. I will not lie when I say tears came to eyes looking at the selection of t-shirts and shoes (including boots). Who knew such simple things could make me feel this kind of joy. It was as if almost every single wish that I made in the past month all came true at once. When I finally went back into the main room, clothed in two new shirts and new boots, my fire had warmed it like a heater. I couldn't have been happier. Some of the lights even worked. When it got dark, I wasn't bathed in complete darkness. Sure, they flickered a little but that didn't matter! It was light! At night! The past while had been difficult but this, this was a start. I could spend the winter here. I was still decently close to the forest, plus, the gas station had a huge stock of lighters to use. I must have taken over 20. My fire was still going strong as I dozed off into one of the best nights I had experienced in forever.

* * *

Finally Eliza catches a break :)


	13. A Year Renewed

Chapter 13

(Prepare for a super long chapter)

Eliza's Current Outfit

I woke up the next morning feeling better than I had since before this all started. I was warm, my stomach was full, and most of all, I was safe. For the time being, I was completely, uninterruptedly, 100% safe. I could now honestly say that I would make it through the winter.

Fast Forward Another Two Months

It must have been a late snow fall because, before I knew it, the snow was gone. I guessed that it must have been somewhere between February and April. It's still pretty cold out though so I've hung onto my warmer jacket. The boots are gone, though. The gift shop had a nice selection of shoes so now, I don't have holes in them! I've got a whole new set of knives as well! Words can't describe how beautiful they are. Just.. Clean. New. Sleek. Perfect. Also, as you may have noticed, by some miracle I haven't lost my glasses! The prescription hasn't changed either so that's good. I mean, I'm not blind without them but everything is a bit out of focus (A/N lol me in real life) so I just prefer to wear them all the time. I really hope they don't break. I was feeling really happy today. I felt on top of the world like nothing could bring my mood down.

And then I remembered. If it's around the time I think it is, my birthday is soon or has already passed. I am (or will be) twelve years old. Mum would have been so proud. Her little girl growing up. I'll be a teenager next year. These past few months have been so quick, unlike the first few after Clary died. Those ones seemed to drag on for forever. I feel better now. I've mourned. I've moved on. I'm still sad about it but you can't dwell on the past. It won't change anything. Twelve years old always seemed like such a big number before this started. Now, it means nothing. My age doesn't determine how well I survive. I determine how well I survive. _**Well, you haven't done very well.**_ _I found that gas station! I'm doing great._ _ **But you'll mess up again.**_ _Yeah, right!_ _ **You will! Listen to me! You will mess up again!**_ _I'm done listening to you! Get out of my head!_ I've decided that instead of trying to block out that voice inside my head, I'll just deny it the satisfaction of making me sad or upset. It's not a real person, just my subconscious. That means I can do something about it. Anyways, back to my birthday. I guess I won't be getting a cake this year. No presents either. The clothes and safety that I have are presents enough. Sort of. I mean, I wish my parents were here. I wish Clary was here too. I think they would've gotten along well. Would I have even been very close to Clary if this didn't happen? I mean, we talked but we never really were all that close to each other. Ok, I admit it. I wish I wasn't alone on my birthday. It may not be my birthday exactly but I know it's around this time somewhere...

It wasn't long before the frost was gone. It was still cold so I kept my coat but, no matter how much I loved the little home I'd set up, it's not safe to stay in one place for so long. For the first time in a quite a bit, I started to pack up my things. I had actually collected a lot from the scavenging I've done in other buildings around. My backpack was filled to the brim with food and spare clothes. I hit the road. The walk wasn't too boring today. There were buildings and plants to look at and I was finally realising this affect the end of the world was having on the planet. Buildings were lined with vines and overgrown weeds. Yards that were painstakingly tended too were now overgrown. Animals were everywhere. If I didn't already have more than enough food, I'd be hunting. Deer were everywhere along with rabbits, racoon's, and skunks. There were other animals around that were best I avoid. These would include bears, wild dogs, and house-pets-turned-feral. I felt bad for them. Once upon a time, someone had taken care of these pets but now, they had to resort back to their basic animal instincts just to make sure they didn't starve to death. I had seen them in action. The poor things had turned vicious, tearing apart a rabbit in seconds. It was heartbreaking to watch and almost brought tears to my eyes. I kept going and made a mental note to never cross paths with them. I've been lucky so far so I'm hoping it stays that way until I make my way out of town. I've felt quite down lately. Just... sad. Maybe it's the loneliness finally setting in and taking over. I haven't seen any humans for months and good ones for even longer. I rarely talk. I've almost forgotten what my own voice sounds like. It's as if I've forgotten how. I felt like if I were to speak, I wouldn't be able too. It would come out dry and raspy. Maybe I should start talking outside of my head instead of inside.

Eventually, I made it out of town. There were three walkers following me but I wasn't in the mood to deal with them. I'll get tired of the growls eventually but for now, I'll just leave it. That's basically my life motto. Why do something when it can wait for later?  
"Grrrrrr." You know what? Never mind, I'll get rid of them now. I turned around and started walking towards them. They sped up, coming towards me, and I shoved my knife through the first one's forehead, its brain and blood spilling all over my jacket. Damn it, now I need to use the one in my bag. The second one was much too close for comfort. It almost scratched me but I won't go down that easily. I may have taken out that one but I was too late to catch the third one. Before I knew it, I was on the ground, desperately trying to push the walker off of me. My knife had fallen just out of my reach. The walkers disgusting smell took over my senses, making me wretch. I was lucky for my jacket because, without it, the walkers' nails would have straight through my skin. I raised up my feet and pressed against the walkers' chest. This allowed me a free hand. I started wriggling, moving towards my knife. The teeth clicking above me, slowly getting closer, encouraged me to push onward, despite how tired I was. It was useless, I realised, when I had been on the ground for at least 3 minutes and I was nowhere closer to the knife than when I started. My next best chance was to push this giant walker off of me and get up. I pushed as hard as I could, my feet starting to crush the bones under its' rotting skin. When I slipped, I thought it was all over. The walker was less than an inch to my shoulder. I closed my eyes, still pushing, beginning to accept that this would be the end of me. Here I was, in the middle of the road, alone and cold, about to be eaten by a walker. I could almost feel the walkers' teeth in my skin when suddenly, it collapsed on top of me, lifeless. I quickly pushed it off of me and jumped to my feet. Standing in front of me was a boy. He couldn't've been more than 8 or 9 years old, even younger than me. He had a large kitchen knife in his hand and was wearing tattered clothes. On his back a small backpack but there was only one thing I really noticed about him. It was the sickly look he had, his skin pale and clammy. His eyes had dark circles underneath them and he looked weak and as if he were going to collapse at any second. If it wasn't for one thing, I would've thought he was on drugs or something. As he looked at me, he fell to the ground. That one thing was the three long scratches dragging across his chest.

I had quite the problem now.  
1-There was a small child who had just saved me.  
2-He was laying in the middle of the road.  
3- He had been infected by the virus.  
I mean, I couldn't just leave him there. I knew he was going to die soon but he had saved me! I decided that since it would be dark soon, I might as well find some shelter and take him with me. Just to be safe, I tied his hands and feet together with duct tape and put some over his mouth. I didn't know when he was going to turn! I couldn't try to help him, only to die myself! I recalled a small shack I had passed some ways back and decided it looked sturdy enough. Who knows, maybe that kid even lives there. When I picked him up, either I had gotten a lot stronger or this boy was weaker than I thought. He was almost as light as my backpack. I felt so sorry for the kid. It seemed like he was all alone. If he was, how long had it been? As I entered the shack, I was relieved to see it was empty. Not only that but the boy indeed lived there. There were candles all around and a sleeping bag on the floor. He also had a few cans of food but I assumed he wasn't eating because he was sick. I placed him down on top of the sleeping bag and sat down on the floor beside him. It wasn't long before he woke up, just before dark. His eyes fluttered open and I instantly saw the fear in them. In a flash, I had reached over and taken the duct tape off his mouth. He instantly attacked me with questions.  
"Who are you!? How did you find my base? Why am I tied up!? What happened?" I could tell he was scared and instinct told me to gentle with him. The voice I put on surprisingly reminded me of the tone my mother used when I would fall off my bike or accidentally break something.  
"Hey, hey! It's alright, ok? I'm not going to hurt you. How about we start with your name and then I'll answer your questions." The kid visibly calmed down so I guess it worked.  
"M-my names Connor. Connor Montgomery. What's your name?"  
"I'm Eliza. Eliza Connors actually." I said with a chuckle. " How old are you Connor?"  
"Nine." He replied in a shaky voice. So I was right. He was younger than me.  
"Ok. So you wanted to know why you're tied up. I hope you can understand but I noticed your scratches. I didn't want you to... turn..without me noticing. Do you get it?"  
"Y-yeah. I understand. But how did you find my base?" I could tell he was upset at the mention of the scratches. I was determined to make sure I answered all these kids' questions. He was already doomed but maybe I could make his last day or two better.  
"Well, it was sort of an accident. I didn't know it was your base, it was just the closest safe place I could find. You did a very good job finding it Connor."  
"Ok then... Hey, I remember now! I saved you!" Though the boy was weak, his enthusiasm was not to be diminished. He was clearly proud of his accomplishment.  
"Yes, you did! If it weren't for you Connor, I'd be done for! That was very brave." I could see the boy was getting tired now. "Maybe you should try to sleep now? I'm sure you're very tired."  
"Yeah I really am. I still want to-" he was cut off by a yawn, "-talk to you." Before I could reply, he was already asleep. I pulled the sleeping bag over the top of him and nestled myself into a corner. I was so tired, I didn't even care that I was sitting on the hardwood floor. I was quickly pulled into unconsciousness.

I woke up rather abruptly to a loud yell. I sat up and look over at Connor. It was dark outside but the last candle still burned. I saw him, trembling with fear.  
"Connor? Connor, look at me? Are you ok?" He was paler than before if that was even possible.  
"I-I-I had an n-nightmare." The poor kid. If he's alone, I can't even imagine the kinds of things he's seen.  
"It's ok Connor," I reassured. "It was only a dream ok? It wasn't real." He looked slightly more relaxed but I could tell he wouldn't sleep anytime soon if I didn't do anything. Suddenly, my very favourite Disney movie popped into my head. Peter Pan. I remember a song someone had made up based on the movie and I had known it by heart. I began singing as I held Connor in a hug.

 _(I suggest listening to Lost Boy by Ruth B here.)_

There was a time when I was alone  
Nowhere to go and no place to call home  
My only friend was the man in the moon  
And even sometimes he would go away, too.

Connors' eyes looked up at me in wonder. I guess I'm a good singer?

Then one night, as I closed my eyes,  
I saw a shadow flying high  
He came to me with the sweetest smile  
Told me he wanted to talk for awhile  
He said, "Peter Pan. That's what they call me.  
I promise that you'll never be lonely."  
And ever since that day...

As I sang, his eyes started to drift shut.

I am a lost boy from Neverland  
Usually hanging out with Peter Pan  
And when we're bored we play in the woods  
Always on the run from Captain Hook  
"Run, run, lost boy," they say to me,  
"Away from all of reality."

Neverland is home to lost boys like me.  
And lost boys like me are free.

As I sang the last few words of this part of the song, I felt my own eyes become heavy. Within minutes, I had managed to lull both me and Connor back into the world of dreams, where anything was possible and I really could go to Neverland. My night was filled with pictures of pixies and pirates as I flew through this gorgeous new world where I would never grow old...

When I woke up the next morning, I knew today would be Connors last day. His skin was soaked in sweat and he was trembling even more than yesterday. His fever was high and I could tell he was scared.  
"Connor, do you know what's going to happen today?"  
"I'm going to d-die, aren't I?"  
"I'm afraid too but don't think of it as dying! Think of it as going off to a new world, Heaven, where you'll always be happy. You'll never get sick or hurt and you can have anything that you want.. It'll be better there than in this world."  
"Will you be there Eliza?"  
"I'm sorry but I won't Connor. You see, I made a promise with someone that I wouldn't go yet. I promised that I'd keep going as long as I could. Someday I'll be there but not yet.."  
"O-" Connor went to reply but was cut off with a sudden fit of violent coughing. It seemed to go on for ages, making me want to yell at him to stop, and when it stopped, he was silent.  
"Connor? Connor are you ok?" He wasn't moving. I went to reach for his wrist and when I couldn't feel a pulse, I couldn't help but cry. Tears ran down my cheeks and sobs escaped my mouth without my consent. I broke down completely, devastated by the death of this poor boy. He didn't deserve this! No one did! He was only nine! Nine years old and he had died, scared and sick, with no family! He was all alone just like me! The only human that was kind since Clary had died and now he was gone too! The same as her! Everyone left me! Everyone! Why does this always happen to me! The tears that raced down my cheeks began to make a small puddle on the floor, as well as dampening my shirt. What felt like hours was only about ten minutes but it felt like the end of the world to me.

(If you're still listening to the song, now would be the time to pause it for the rest of the chapter.)

I eventually had to pull myself together. I decided I need to put Connor down. I didn't want him to turn. It was difficult but necessary. I took what little food he had and, once again, began walking. The highway was long and boring. I passed the walkers that were killed yesterday and spat on them in disgust. It was one of them that did this to Connor. It was their fault he was dead now. I walked miles, my feet tired and aching and my heart heavy with grief. Nothing could make me feel better. I decided to turn and go into the woods for the night. I would set up in a tree again, considering I could not be reached up so high. I wasn't paying attention and before I could stop myself, I had tripped on a rock and began tumbling downhill. My arms and face were scratched and I hit my head more times than I can count. When I finally stopped, I looked up, still in a considerable amount of pain, and gasped in shock. Standing there before me, just at the bottom of another hill, was a prison. Better yet...

There were people there.


	14. Risk Taking

Chapter 14

 _(A/N I would just like to let you all know that, from this point on, I will be introducing a bit of 'indecent' language. This means swearing. If you are uncomfortable with that, feel free to stop reading. Thanks :) On another note, I should let you all know where we're at. At this point in the story, Ricks group has just taken over the prison. They haven't found Woodbury and baby Judith has not yet arrived. The next chapter will most likely be extremely fast paced. According to the Walking Dead timeline, this is somewhere between approximately 300-320 days into the apocalypse. Almost a year. Well, happy reading!)_

* * *

I had a hard time believing my own eyes. There, less than a mile away from me, was a decent sized group of people. There must have been at least 10 of them. This was it. It was the time for me to make a decision but, I couldn't just make it on a whim. I would need to plan this out. For all I know, these people could be cannibals or some shit like that. **_Just don't mess up. This is your life we're talking about here._** _Damnit , I won't! Just stop telling me these things! I don't care!_ _ **I'm trying to protect you!**_ _Well, you aren't doing a very good job of it._ Anyways, right. A plan. It wasn't long before I thought back to that list I made all those months ago. The first step to making a plan is having steps, right? I took a little notepad and pen out of my bag and began writing.

Eliza's Plan for Joining a Group

1- Make sure they won't kill you.  
2- Make sure they won't hurt you.  
3- Make sure they haven't murdered  
people in cold blood. Cause, you know...  
That kinda ties in with hurting you...  
4- Make sure they will at least be mildly  
civil.  
5-Decide how you feel about them.  
6- If you get in, make a decision.  
Are you staying, or not?

There. That felt good. I like having stuff planned out, logical, and making perfect sense. _(A/N Also known as me IRL)_. So. My first step was to make sure they wouldn't kill me and how could I do that without them seeing me or getting close to me? _Wait. That's it! The walkie talkies!_ I almost yelled in excitement when I remembered the walkie talkies I had picked up at the gas station. They even had batteries in them! I just needed to get one inside. Then, I could talk to them and see how I felt. Now how would I do that? From what I could tell, after observing them for several hours, they only entered the prison through one way. There was a gate out front, heavily guarded and locked. They would pass through that, go up the road/path thing or whatever, and then pass another gate, and finally enter through a door into the prison. I searched the rest of the building but from what I could tell, that was the only area they used. They had easily secured all other entries and/or exits.

This place was honestly amazing. They must have been incredibly lucky to find it. I mean, I guess I must have been incredibly lucky too. For once, I'm getting a break. I'm losing focus, though. Getting the walkie talkies in. I mean, I could just hide, throw it over, and hope it gets inside but that's a risky business. It was really the only plan that I could come up with, though. What other choice did I have? It was that or approach them face-to-face and there was _no_ chance I would be doing that. That was even more dangerous. I guess I would just have to take the chance and do it. When they switched guards in a few minutes, I would run over and hide behind one of the trees closer to the gate. As soon as someone's back was turned, I would throw the walkie-talkie over the fence and run far enough away that they wouldn't be able to find me. If they came looking, I would hide in the small cave I had found, hidden underneath a massive tree. It was, to be completely honest, one of the best plans I had ever made. To my twelve-year-old brain, it was foolproof. I could carry out more than half my list just through the walkie talkie. From the short time I had observed them, they seemed like a reasonable, sensible, bunch of people. There was no way my plan would fail. I mean, unless they didn't let me in. But what kind of people wouldn't let a twelve-year-old kid into their group? Murderers. That's who. If they wouldn't let me stay, then I would easily know what kind of people they were. It wasn't long before I put my plan into motion. I was already in position, hiding behind the largest tree I could find that was still within throwing distance of the gate. I had a damn good throwing arm anyways, playing softball and all. The woman guarding the gate was pretty. She almost looked familiar, for whatever reason. Short, brown hair framed her face and as she turned to climb down from her post, I heard her talking to someone.  
"I'm gonna go find Glenn." She had said. She had a pretty southern accent (again, strangely familiar) and it made me want to get to know her. If I got in, maybe I'd try and talk to her. When her back was turned, I went for it. The walkie talkie sailed over the fence and I winced when it almost struck her. Then I ran. I was out of sight before she had even turned to see where it came from. They couldn't see me but I could see them perfectly. I was actually still close enough to hear little bits of what they were saying.  
"What on earth...?"  
"You should take it to Rick! It could be dangerous."  
"You're right. What if someone is on the other end? I mean, it was tossed over for a reason."  
And with that, she turned and ran towards the prison, leaving the grey haired woman at the guard post. I could only hope now that it would make it to whoever their leader was so I could talk to them.

About an hour later

"SHIT!" I yelled, tumbling out of my tree. The voice that had come through the radio startled me in my half-asleep state and I fell. The branches scratched my arms as the ground approached and I vaguely remembered that time with the men in the woods. The ground my body had landed on was not soft by any means, most likely spraining my wrist in the process. I sat there for a moment, waiting for the pain to pass and cradling my injured hand. It was then that I realised something. _Oh, my god. Someone just spoke through the walkie talkie! They spoke to me! What did they even say?!_ I Instantly jumped up and, not forgetting my pain, gently picked up the radio. I heard the voice again, rough and southern, not quite as gentle as the young woman's.  
"Hello? Is anyone there? Hello?" The man's voice sounded tired and the message was simple. I pushed the button on the side down and spoke.  
"Hello? Who are you?" I tried to make my voice sound strong but that was difficult to do when you were cold, tired, and in pain. It came out almost as a whisper and I hated how weak I sounded.  
The man's voice clearly relaxed a bit when he realised I wasn't an adult.  
"Who am I? I think we should be asking you that. My name is Rick Grimes."  
"Eliza. Eliza Connors."  
"Okay, Eliza. Why did you give us this walkie talkie?" Now came the questions. I decided to answer honestly.  
"Well, to be completely honest, I don't trust you. I've never met you and I wanted to talk." I had already started so no use stopping now. "I have something to ask... I would like to join your group." The radio went silent and, for a moment, I thought they had left. I realised that they were probably just talking, though. I wasn't afraid to admit I was nervous. The longer the silence, the stronger the doubt grew. _What if they don't let me in? What if they come after me? What if they try to trick me?_ Even though I was scared, this was one of the kinds of risks I would have to take from now on. I was startled again when the radio crackled to back to life.  
"Can you come out? You sound smart and we're assuming you can still see the prison."  
"You're right, I can see you. Whether I'm coming out or not is a tricky matter. What do you want?" This was terrifying.  
"Well, we have to see you before we can trust you. Make sure you're alone and not dangerous."  
"I understand that. If I'm right, you're armed and I would feel a lot better if you would maybe send out two or three people instead of all of you. I will leave my weapons hidden in the forest until you trust me enough to retrieve them." I was really putting myself out here right now. I could be killed any moment. The walkie was picked up again.

"Alright. Let's do it."

This was it. Today, in this moment, I would either live or I would die an idiot. Either way, this plan is incredibly stupid. I had already left all of my weapons except one of my knives in the cave under the tree. I would give that to them when I decided it was safe. I still needed to protect myself. At the moment, I was sat perched in another tree, waiting for whoever came out to look for me. Ten more minutes passed until finally, I saw the door to the building open. I would assume the people emerging would have some form of authority here. The first one to come out was a tall man. He was wearing a light shirt and jeans I could tell he was a cop or something just from the way he walked. His beard was long and messy but he still looked strong, confident. The gun on his hip would be something to watch out for. The second man looked similar. His hair was dark and tangled and a huge crossbow sat over his shoulder. Man, would I love to shoot that. Maybe he would let me one day. Finally, the woman with the brown hair followed them. I was glad she was there. She made me feel safe but.. maybe that was the point? For them to make me feel safe and then attack? I guess I wouldn't know if I didn't do something. As they approached the gates, I jumped down from the tree and stepped forward.

"Any of you people Rick?"


	15. A Prison for Survivors

Chapter 15

 _I would assume the people emerging would be have some form of authority here. The first one to come out was a tall man. He was wearing a light shirt and jeans I could tell he was cop or something just from the way he walked. His beard was long and messy but he still looked strong, confident. The gun on his hip would be something to watch out for. The second man looked similar. His hair was dark and tangled and a huge crossbow sat over his shoulder. Man would I love to shoot that. Maybe he would let me one day. Finally, the woman with the brown hair followed them. I was glad she was there. She made me feel safe but.. maybe that was the point? For them to make me feel safe and then attack? I guess I wouldn't know if I didn't do something. As they approached the gates, I jumped down from the tree and stepped forward._

 _"Any of you people Rick?"_

* * *

My question hung in the air, strong and clear. All three of their mouths fell open as I walked into view. _Damn, I guess I look worse than I thought._ I honestly didn't even know what I looked like anymore. The mirror in the gas station was shattered, covered in blood, and I did _not_ want to know the story behind that. So, too put it lightly, I hadn't seen what I looked like in forever. I must have changed a lot. Probably a mess as well. I had no doubt I looked like a walking disaster. What I didn't know what that they had had an entirely different opinion of me before they saw what I looked like.

Earlier

(Authors POV? I don't know what to call this. Maybe 3rd POV?)

No one really knew what to think when a radio came out of nowhere and almost hit Maggie in the face. I mean, how does that happen? Most people would just come out guns blazing. I guess Eliza wasn't just anyone though. She had a better plan than that. The radio made it inside though, just like she planned. It went straight to Rick, considering this was before the council.  
"What is it?" He had asked as Maggie ran inside, out of breath and sweating.  
"Someone just tossed a radio over the gate!" and everyone in range of her voice turned their heads. "We didn't see anyone, just this thing coming crashing through past my head!" As Maggie explained the situation, no one could help but feel worried. Someone had seen them and it seemed like they wanted to talk.

Everyone's first assumption was that they would be dangerous. When it was finally decided to talk to whoever had obviously wanted to communicate, you could use many words to describe what happened when no one answered. People were confused, puzzled, thrown. The list could go on and on. Ricks voice rang out a second time.  
"Hello? Is anyone there? Hello?" and for another moment, it remained silent. Nothing but static came through until, to everyone's shock, a young girl's voice answered.

"Hello? Who are you?" She had tried to sound strong but to Rick, it was obvious how hurt she was in every sense of the word. The conversation carried on until it was decided that they would meet her outside. Rick had chosen to Daryl to come with him and Maggie volunteered, stating that the young girl may feel better having a woman out there instead of three, scary looking, men. Rick had tried to protest but he was no match for Maggie. Really, no one was. She was definitely a force to be reckoned with. So out they went, to look for stranger who sounded no older than a child. What other choice did they have? To leave her out there would be the same as murdering her. You can imagine their surprise when a little kid came out of the trees, looking anything _but_ scared.

(Eliza's POV)

It was obvious they weren't going to say anything so again, I asked them my question.  
"Are any of you Rick or are you just gonna stare at me all day?" and that seemed to snap them out of their stupor. The man in the cop uniform stepped forward.  
"That would be me."  
"Well Rick, I hope we can come to an agreement today." I said, trying to sound older and professional. I could tell they were surprised by this.  
"So do I. Can I ask why you'd like to join us Eliza?"  
"You may. As you've probably figured out by now, I'm alone and recent events have caused me to decide it is no longer safe this way. I promised someone I would find a group someday and today is the day." It would better for me to be straightforward with these people. I wanted to be honest with them (for what reason, the world will never know).  
"Did you leave your weapons?"  
"I did, yes."  
"Okay then. There's only one more thing to do then." Wait what? "I need to ask you three questions." Oh, thank god. I had no clue what he meant before that.  
"And what would those questions be?"  
"How many walkers have you killed?" What kind of question is that? I have no idea."  
"I don't know. Probably between 100 or 150. I stopped counting at 50" They glanced at each other, obviously shocked.  
"How many people have you killed?" Rick asked. I really had to think about this one. Had I killed anyone? I didn't think so.  
"None, as far as I know." Was the answer I decided on. Finally Rick asked me the third question.  
"Why?" Why? Why _hadn't_ I killed anyone? I wasn't sure. I knew I needed to answer so I just winged it.  
"I've never had a reason to.. I've barely spoken to anyone in months."  
"Months?!" The brunette woman suddenly exclaimed.  
"Well, yeah... I mean, I stopped counting the days when I got caught up in a wildfire."  
"But you're a kid!" God, she was so naive.  
"I'm not a kid anymore. I haven't been a kid in a long time. I'm just a survivor now." I growled with a glare. This topic was an extremely sensitive one to me. I was absolutely livid that my childhood had been taken from me so viciously.  
"Sorry..." She apologized. "I guess after all this, no one is.  
"No.. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have took it out on you. It was my fault." The woman smiled and she started seeming more and more familiar. I could've sworn I had met her before

"I think this is a simple choice." Rick spoke up. "Eliza, welcome to our group."  
"Thank you Mr. Grimes. I appreciate it. I actually do have to confess to something though." I stepped forward and took out my knife. It landed on the ground with a clang. "I hope you understand why I kept this with me."  
"You're a smart girl Eliza. Thank you for being honest with us. If you don't mind, I'm going to take this for a while. It'll be returned to you as soon as we decide it's safe." I was glad Rick didn't mind. I felt a weird sense of pride when he called me smart.  
"Thank you, sir." and with that, they led me inside. There were actually even more people than I previously thought. Among them was a tall woman holding a boy by her side who, if I was right, was about my age. Beside them were two men I would later come to know as T-Dog and Glenn. The lady they called Carol stood behind them. I turned around to speak to Rick again when I heard a voice.  
"Eliza?" I knew that voice anywhere. I turned my head and there, standing with his younger daughter, was Hershel Greene. Wait... Maggie! That was the brunette woman! I was overcome with excitement but found it surprisingly easy to contain. Maybe it was because of the whole 'walkers in the barn' thing. I suddenly turned and hugged Maggie.  
"Oh my gosh. I thought it was you but I couldn't quite tell! I'm so glad you're alive!" She cried out.  
"Maggie, Hershel, Beth, you know her?" Rick suddenly spoke up. I had almost forgotten about him.  
"Yes! She was that girl we told you about!" Hershel said.  
"The one your boys shot at?" Rick seemed shocked. I guess they didn't tell him how old I was.  
"That's the one."

(The chapter isn't over but I'm sorry for all the dialog. I know It's kinda annoying.)  
"Well, you've sure been through a lot. Where's Clary?" Maggie spoke up and, at that, I went silent. I said nothing and decided, instead, to study the floor. She took the hint but started explaining to Rick who Clary was. I loved the way she described her. Caring, kind, beautiful, brave. Exactly how I would've described her. I guess everyone else just assumed my parents were dead.  
"I'm betting you don't want to talk much about this? How about we get you a cell for the night. It's getting late anyways." Rick said. "I think it's safe to put you in the cell between my sons' and my wife and I's cell." As he walked up the stairs, me trailing behind him, Ricks' wife, Lori, and his son, Carl, followed us.  
"It's this one right here. There are extra blankets if you want one. Remember, I'm right next door if you need anything." Rick nodded to me. Suddenly, Lori spoke up for the first time. It was in that moment I realized she was pregnant.  
"Rick, I'm sure the poor girl's tired. Let's let her settle in and rest, ok?" The Grimes family turned and walked out, Carl giving me one last glance before leaving. He seemed so curious. Maybe we could be friends. I was sick of talking after being on my own for so long. I liked these people but it was a relief to finally be alone. I really was tired. Probably more than I thought though because as soon as I laid down on the bed (as uncomfortable as it was) I was out like a light.

I woke up hours later, when it was still dark outside. I sat up and saw a small pile of clothes on the floor, just inside my cell. I assumed either Lori or Maggie left them for me and I was grateful. A bit dreary, being all grey, but who was I to complain? My current clothes were a mess and someone was considerate enough to get me new ones. When I finished changing, I took a peek out the sheet covering the cell door and saw a small light coming from the cell on my right. Wasn't that Carl's cell? Why was he up? I didn't want to scare him so I called out his name.  
"Carl?" I heard him startle so I guess I scared him anyways. He quickly got up and came to the door.  
"What are you doing up?" He asked.  
"What are _you_ doing up?" I countered.  
"I was reading." He told me.  
"Oh, really? I love reading!" Maybe I could join him? "Would you mind if I came in?" He seemed wary but stood aside, gesturing for me to enter.  
"What do you have?"  
"Comics mostly."  
"Great! Comics are awesome." I felt my inner-kid coming out again at the mention of comics. I had a huge collection back at home.  
"Really? A girl likes comics?" He did not just say that to me! Obviously, girls' read comics too.  
"Of course! God, all boys are the same. My other friend said that too." StarDestroyer1999 couldn't believe it when I said I read them. I had to send him a picture of the massive pile on my floor just to prove it.  
"Well, it's not that common." He passed me a comic, one which I had already read, and sat back down on his bed. I sat beside him and began reading.  
"You're name's Eliza right?"  
"Yeah."  
"Hershel talked about you a lot."  
"Really?"  
"Yeah."  
Neither of us seemed that good at making conversation so we just kept reading. I almost jumped when he spoke up.  
"What happened to you?" I knew the question was coming but I just couldn't answer it yet. My face went dark and tears pricked my eyes but I wouldn't cry. I could not show so much weakness in front of this boy I had just met.  
"Maybe I'll tell you another time." He seemed to understand and didn't bring the topic up again. We kept reading but neither of us noticed when we started nodding off. In his half-asleep state, Carl switched off the flashlight and we leaned against each other, too tired to really care. The last thing I saw before falling asleep were his blue eyes slowly closing. Wow, they were so blue. It was almost unnatural. I had never noticed that. What nice eyes to have... and then I was asleep.

I can still picture the surprise on Lori's face the next morning when she woke the both of us up. We saw her glance down at the comic books and knew she had found us out. She laughed and walked out.  
"Don't be late for breakfast!" The pregnant woman called as she headed downstairs. Carl and I looked at each other and just shrugged. At the exact same time we just said "Oops." and burst out laughing. It felt good to laugh again. I hadn't done that in a long time. Maybe I would like being here more than I thought. Maybe it would be more than just a place to stay. 


	16. Killer Within

Chapter 16

(This chapter will be based on the episode Killer Within -Season 3 Episode 4-)

To say breakfast was awkward was an understatement. In the short time, Lori was downstairs, she had told everyone sitting there about how she found us. On top of that, I was also the strange girl that was alone for, like, 7 months or something like that. _Everyone_ was staring at me and the voice in my head came back. _**They'll probably kick you out.**_ _No way._ _ **They will! You fell asleep with the leaders son!**_ _But we didn't do anything! We're like, twelve!_ _ **Yeah but you're so weird, they won't want you around eventually. Don't you know how annoying you are?**_ _Am not!_ _ **Are so!**_ and I cut off the conversation there. When I looked up from my food, everyone had finally stopped staring and were engaged in their own conversations. Everyone except Carl. When I looked up at him, he looked away quickly and blushed. Strange. Finally, the conversations stopped and everyone looked at me again. I prepared myself for the questions.

"Eliza," Rick spoke up.  
"Yes, sir?"  
"I hope you understand we need to ask you a few things." Of course... I would have to get it over with eventually.  
"Yes, I understand." I enjoyed being polite. It was nice to see people surprised at the way I spoke.  
"Ok. Well, my first question is how long have you been alone?"  
"To be completely honest sir, I'm not sure. I suppose it's around 7 or 8 months?" At this, the whole table began whispering until Rick shushed them. I knew they'd react this way.  
"How did you survive that long?" Oh.. Well, it's now or never.  
"There _was_ someone. Her name was Clary. She was my next door neighbour. After my parents died a couple days in, she took care of me. Clary taught me how to hunt and take care of myself. I think she knew I would be alone one day but just not as soon as I was. When she." My voice broke at this point but I kept going. "When she died, that was it. It was just me. We had already driven a long way but I left where we were staying and just walked. I never stopped walking. I mean, I'm from North Carolina and now I'm in Georgia. I've just been travelling since and trying to stay alive. Now I'm here. That's about all there is." A single tear slipped down my face and I wiped it away. Everyone looked shocked when I finished. I left out a few details like Connor or the men in the woods but that could be told another time. I couldn't handle talking about Connor or the fire right now.

After breakfast, Lori took me aside. She offered to help me clean myself up. I hadn't even seen what I looked like in forever. I was ecstatic when Lori took me into a bathroom and there a mirror there. God, I was an absolute wreck. My hair was tangled (not unlike a rats nest) but it looked a bit darker than before. Maybe it was just dirt, though. She showed me the showers and even though they weren't hot, I savoured the luke-warm water flowing over my body, washing away all the dirt and blood and cleaning my cuts, even though it stung. I didn't really care. I was clean and that was all that mattered. I stepped out of the shower and got dressed again. I used the brush Lori left me and when I was finished, I looked like a completely different person. My hair was, in fact, not just dirty but a bit darker and I realised I was even a bit taller too. If I'm being honest here, there was even a slight difference on my chest. It wasn't noticeable but it definitely made me happy. I felt a little more grown-up. Maybe for once, I could feel normal. Maybe I could be happy here. Everyone seemed eager to accept me and once I was ready, maybe I could begin to trust them more.

By the time I had finished cleaning up, breakfast had been cleaned up and everyone had left to go about their business. I felt awkward standing in the middle of the room (is that what I should call it? I don't know). After what felt like minutes of being my awkward self, I decided that I would go and see Carl. I bet he has some comic books I would like. He was the only person my age here anyways so I guess I should make friends with him.  
"Hey, Carl!" He looked up from his comics and I was happy I didn't scare him this time.  
"Wow." What was with him?  
"Wow? Wow, what?"  
"I-I just mean you look different. Your hairs all longer and well... you look better. N-not that you didn't look nice before!" Seeing him struggle with his words like this was funny but I put him out of his misery.  
"Whatever. Got any comics for me?" He visibly relaxed when I changed the subject, though I knew I was blushing just as much as he was.  
"Yeah. You like The Avengers?"  
"Well, no duh! Who doesn't?" I took the comic he passed to me, Captain America, and once again began reading with him. I was beginning to notice his taste in comics was really similar to StarDestroyer's. He even had the same Science Dog t-shirt. What a coincidence.

Carl and I had been reading for a while when I saw a few men walk past the doorway. I hadn't seen them at breakfast and decided to check it out.  
"Hey Carl, I'm gonna head out. Walk around for a bit. See ya'."  
"Ok, see ya." Carl was so engrossed with his comic he barely noticed me leaving. I noticed the men were arguing with Rick. Something about their cell block not being as nice as ours? I heard Rick tell them they could either live in their cell block or leave. I decided this didn't concern me and went over to Hershel's cell. When I knocked on the wall, I heard a gentle "Come in." and entered.  
"Hello, Eliza." The old man said.  
"Hello, Hershel. What's going on?"  
"I was just about to take a walk around on my crutches!" I was confused for a moment until I looked down and, for the first time, noticed Hershel's leg was gone!  
"Oh my god Hershel! What happened?"  
"Nothing to worry about little miss. I was bitten a few days back. What's done is done. It was either the leg or my life."  
"I'm so sorry."  
"Don't be. It's not your fault. Now, help an old man to his feet." I grabbed Hershel's hands and helped him up. He grabbed his crutches you could've sworn that man had used them his entire life. He was a natural. I followed him around, just exploring in a comfortable silence. When I spotted Lori, I decided to go hang out with her for a bit. I said goodbye to Hershel -who wanted to go outside now anyways- and headed over. I'm not sure why but I just felt like I would like Lori. She was so nice and caring. She would never replace Clary, of course, but she was definitely in my good books.  
"Hey, Lori!"  
"Hello, Eliza. Need anything?" She cringed a little as she spoke.  
"No, I don't but do you?" I couldn't help but be concerned for her and the baby.  
"Oh, it's nothing. This baby has been kicking for days. They'll be due any time now." Lori replied with a smile. It would be so great to have a baby here, no matter what challenges it would bring. It would be a small child, uncorrupt by the world. I spent the next few hours with Lori, talking and bonding. I felt so close to her, almost like her daughter. She had even told me she felt the same way. In the short time, we had known each other, she had helped me fit in, relax, and make friends. We eventually went out into the courtyard for some fresh air and a break from the cold, musty prison. The sunshine felt nice on our skin. It wasn't long before something went wrong, though, like always. We were startled from our conversation by screaming and when we turned around, lo and behold, there were walkers coming out of the prison. We were suddenly grabbed my Maggie (who had Carl with her as well) and ran into the prison, away from the walkers. We could hear gunshots and screams all around us until we were cornered and had to hide in the boiler room. Alarms were sounding and there were lights flashing in the corridor as well. I could see Lori was struggling and in pain.  
"What are those alarms?" She asked.

(Listen to add emotion.)

"Don't worry about it," Maggie said, guiding Lori to the other side of the room. Carl and I followed them. "Lori, let's lay you down." She continued, seeing her obvious discomfort.  
"No." She said. "The baby's comin' now." Carl suddenly spoke up.  
"W-we have to get back to our cell block and have Hershel help-" but he was cut off by Lori.  
"No, we can't risk getting caught out there." and then Maggie said it.  
"You're gonna need to give birth to this baby here." _No. No no this is bad. This is very bad._ Suddenly, Lori's breathing sped up. It sounded like she was having trouble. I finally spoke.  
"What's wrong? Can't she breathe?"  
"She's fine," Maggie said. Now speaking to Lori she continued, "Come on let's get your pants off." She then looked up at Carl, me standing behind him, and said, "You're gonna need to help deliver your baby brother or sister, you up for it?" The two of us just nodded. Maggie started talking about stuff like seeing if Lori was 'dilated' when Carl asked if she even knew how.  
"Dad told me but trust me, it's my first time." and after looking for a second she said, "I can't tell." Lori suddenly began to stand up.  
"I gotta push, I gotta push." She stood up, Maggie reassuring her the whole time. Before any of us could react, she was screaming. Carl grabbed my hand and we held on to each other, feeling absolutely terrified. All we could do was stand there and watch. Maggie said her body knew what to do but I wasn't so sure. She just kept screaming until Maggie spoke up.  
"Lori, stop! Don't push! Something's wrong." _No! Not now!_ "You aren't fully dilated yet. No amount of pushing is gonna help."  
Lori was out of breath as she spoke.  
"I know what it means and I'm not losing my baby. You've gotta cut me open." Carl and I looked at each other in horror as Maggie was talking to Lori.  
"No. I can't"  
"You don't have a choice."  
Carl stood up, saying he would go get a bucket, but Lori stopped him.  
"Look, Cara's the one that did that, dad only taught me the steps, Lori."  
"Please."  
"I have no anaesthetic, no equipment."  
"Carl has a knife."  
"Well, you won't survive."  
"My baby has to survive. Please. My baby. For all of us. Please, Maggie! Please." Lori sounded as desperate as she looked and we all knew there was no other way.  
"You see my old C-Section scar?" Lori showed Maggie.  
"I can't"  
"You can. You have to." Carl and I were kneeling down on either side of her now. "Carl? Baby, I don't want you to be scared ok? Either of you." she said, looking over to me. "This is what I want. This is right." The tears were streaming down both of our faces. "Now, you take care of you daddy for me, alright? And your little brother or sister, you take care of them?  
"No, you don't have to do this." He cried but Lori continued, speaking to the both of us. "We are gonna be fine. You are gonna beat this world, I know you will. You are smart, and you are strong, and you are so brave and I love you." Suddenly, a memory flashed into my head. I realised I was basically re-living Clary's death over again and that brought a fresh wave of tears.  
"I love you too." I heard Carl say.  
"You gotta do what's right baby. You promise you'll both always do what's right. It's so easy to do the wrong thing in this world. So.. So if it feels wrong, don't do it." I had a feeling she was talking about Shane now. "and if it feels too easy, don't do it. Don't let the world spoil you." Her voice cracked here and Carl and I both had tears dripping off our cheeks. "You're so good. My sweet boy. You're the best thing I ever did. I love you." She pulled the two of us into a tight hug. "I love you. My sweet, sweet kids... Ok. Ok now." Carl and I clung tightly to each other as she pushed us away, desperately seeking comfort from the other.  
"Maggie, when this is over you're gonna have to do it. You have to do it, it can't be Rick." She took a deep breath. "Alright. Alright. It's alright. It's alright." Carl handed his knife over to Maggie but the two of us never let go of each other. "Goodnight, love."  
"I'm sorry," Maggie whispered as she began to cut into Lori's stomach. Carl and I began yelling as Lori let out a gut-wrenching scream.  
"Stop it! Stop! You're killing her!" I heard Carl yell as we both watched and Maggie asked us to help. "Carl, gimme your hand. Guys please, I need to keep the sac clean. If I cut too deep, I'm gonna cut the baby." We were crying still, staring at Lori as we helped with the baby. At this point, I think Maggie was talking to herself more than anything. "I see it. I see the uterus. I"m gonna pull em' out. I can't tell if this is the arm or the leg. Ok. I'm gonna pull the baby out." The sounds coming from Lori were awful. It sounded disgusting. All we could whisper was "Ok." and then the baby was out.  
"Maggie! Maggie why isn't it crying! Maggie!" I suddenly yelled. I knew babies weren't supposed to come out silent. Until it started crying and it was one of the most beautiful sounds I had ever heard. Carl took off his vest and handed it to Maggie, so the baby wouldn't be cold.  
"We have to go," Maggie said but Carl finally spoke up.  
"We can't just leave her here. She'll turn." Maggie reached for her gun but Carl stopped her. "No. She's my mum." He said,pulling out his gun. Maggie turned away from us, walking out with the baby.

"Carl? Are you s-sure about this?" I asked him, my voice shaking.  
"I need to do it. It needs to be someone who loves her."  
"Then I'll stay with you." We both turned back to Lori, staring at her dead body. We instinctively grabbed each others hands and Carl raised his gun. We both flinched as it fired, gripping each others hands with tears streaming down out facing, telling the words we couldn't speak. Maggie only stared as we walked past her without a word. 


	17. Hurt

Chapter 17

Carl and I were both silent when we walked outside. The alarms had stopped. The screams had stopped. Everything had stopped. Carl and I walked behind Maggie, through the corridors and out one of the doors. The baby was fussing in Maggie's arms. We saw the rest of the group outside, except for Carol and T-Dog. As soon as Rick heard the baby, he turned around. I looked at his eyes as it suddenly registered that Lori wasn't with us. He looked us up and down and approached us.  
His axe dropped to the ground and he started shaking his head. Tears of grief and fear began to form in his eyes, telling us he had figured out what went wrong.  
"Where.. Where is- Where is she?" He stuttered Rick went to go back inside the prison door we came from.  
"No! Rick no!" Maggie cried, gripping his arm. He looked at the two of us, covered in Lori's blood, and began sobbing.  
"Oh no... No.." He cried. Just looking at us and then the sky. Carl and I were both silent. We were gripping each other's hands so hard, I thought they would break but I didn't care. We just stared at the ground as Rick cried, too tired and sad to do anything. He just lay there on the ground, mourning the loss of his wife. I felt like I was dreaming. All the voices around me were fuzzy and far away, not unlike when I hit my head at Hershel's farm.  
I think someone was calling out to Rick -Daryl maybe?- but it didn't matter to me. Maggie passed the baby off the Carl and he let go of my hand. I suddenly felt much less safe and a lot more scared. We walked towards Hershel, who had asked to see her.  
"What are we gonna feed it? We got anything a baby can eat?" Daryl spoke up.  
"The good news is, she looks healthy." He said with a pause. "But she needs formula. And soon or she won't survive."  
"Nope. No way. Not her. We ain't' losin anyone else. I'm going for a run." Daryl claimed, slinging his crossbow over his shoulder.  
"I'll back you up," Maggie said, with Glenn close behind. Daryl started walking and I noticed him saying something to Beth, looking over at us, but I didn't really care at the moment. She nodded and walked back over. I didn't really notice when Rick picked his axe back up and walked into the doors we came from. Carl just stared at him while I was more focused on the ground.

Everyone who was still there went inside at this point, except for the group of people who went to the fences to clear out walkers. Carl and I still had not spoken a word since the delivery. Beth had the baby now and we walked into Carl's cell. As soon as we sat down on the bed, the both of us burst into tears. We had been so silent this whole time and everything had built up to be too much. Once again, I had lost someone close to me. Once again, they were gone from my life forever. It also killed me seeing Carl so hurt because, in the past couple days, I had grown to really like him. The two of us sat on the bed, clinging on to each other. It was the only thing that felt stable at that point. We just hugged and cried and eventually laid down. The tears were still slipping down both of our faces as we started to fall asleep. The day had been so long and tiring, after everything we had done. I couldn't keep my eyes open if I wanted too. Once again, the last thing I saw before falling asleep were the bluest eyes I had ever seen, gleaming with tears as they slipped shut. Mine followed as if our bodies knew we just needed a break for a bit.

When I woke up, it was dark outside. I glanced over and saw Carl, his eyes already open. He was laying there beside me, just staring at the ceiling. I was about to say something when I heard a yell and a motorcycle.  
"Guys, they're back!" It was probably Glenn. I got up, squeezed Carl's hand one more time, and rubbed my eyes. They were sticky from tears and no doubt as red as an apple. Carl got up as well and followed me. Beth handed Carl the baby and we sat for a moment, Carl bouncing her, and waiting for everyone to come inside.  
"Beth," Maggie said as she ran in. Daryl kneeled down next to us as he spoke.  
"How's she been?" Carl handed the crying baby over to him as Daryl tried to soothe her, making gentle sounds that, for some reason, babies love. Beth handed Daryl a bottle of prepared formula and he began to feed her. Carl and I stared at this tiny miracle who, against all odds, had survived one of the most hectic births of all time. She quieted down.  
"She got a name yet?" Daryl asked. Carl was the one who spoke up.  
"Not yet. I was thinking, maybe Sophia. And there's Carol too. Andrea.. Amy... Jackie. Patricia." He looked around, naming all of the women we had lost. "Or... Lori. I don't know." We were all silent as he spoke.. watching Daryl with the baby.  
"You like that? Huh? Lil ass kicker?" He looked at all of us. "Right? That's a good name, right?" and we all laughed a little at his humour. It felt good. "Lil ass kicker? You like that? Huh? You like that, sweetheart?" Who knew Daryl, of all people, would be so good with babies. He may look tough but he's a softie at heart.

We all went to bed after that. Even though Carl and I had slept the last three hours or so, we were still exhausted. Neither of us wanted to be alone so I curled up with him in his cell again, the both of us holding each other. I don't think it was really a romantic thing. We were just two hurt kids who felt alone.

* * *

Yay! New chapter! So, this chapter is a bit shorter than I would like but I thought maybe there should be some Carl/Eliza bonding time. You know, the calm after the storm? I just didn't know how to make this longer without it dragging on. I'll try to make the next chapter a bit longer.

-Emma xoxo


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